project: Farmhouse Table {complete}

When Tim and I got married (12 years +1 month ago) our furniture was an interesting collection of pieces we each had from college/post college years and things that were handed down to us from friends or family. Which I would assume is true of many young married couples. (Please don’t tell me if I’m wrong.)

I’ve come to realize that we are just not big furniture people. If it works and isn’t completely hideous, then it’s fine. Case in point — we slept on a mattress on the floor for the first six years of our marriage. Then we finally got a bedroom set. A beautiful king size bed set…which we’re now thinking of selling and downsizing.

But this isn’t about beds. This is about tables! Dining room tables!

Once upon a time ago I had dreams of living in a home with a large formal dining room and a table that fit it accordingly. Then I traded in those dreams for our perfect little quaint log home. No formal dining room. No large table. Just a small dining area right off the kitchen fitted with a four-seat white cottage style round table and a folding card table tucked off the end in an effort to create a seating area that fit our family of 5. Seating included the four chairs that matched the white round table and a high-chair for Talon. Oh, and a few folding chairs for when we needed to squeeze a few more guests around the table.

It was quite the eyesore but at least it served it’s function.

But then I started dreaming of what it would be like to have a real table. One that our family could actually fit around. And then I started pinning. And apparently mentioned it a few hundred times to Tim and my parents.

Next thing I knew we were drawing up ideas of what we wanted and what would work with our space and family. And, with the help of my parents and their extensive supply of materials and tools, we went to work.

We spent the first Saturday afternoon and Sunday prepping the wood and building the table and bench seat and the following Friday evening and Saturday finishing the table and bench with a clear finish and some stain.

In the end, we spent around 25 hours on the project. The table top and bench seat are made of black walnut and the legs of both the table and bench are made from cedar 4x4s. After using some interesting distressing methods on the table and bench (chains, shovels, screw drivers, hammers, a rake, drill bits, a rasping thing, etc), we used just a natural flat finish on the table top and bench seat to bring out the natural beauty of the wood. We used a walnut stain on the legs to help the cedar match the beautiful color of the table top and bench seat.

And we could not be happier! It is exactly what we wanted and looks fabulous in our dining area. We’re still using the white chairs from the old white round table, in addition to the bench seat. I’m not sure if/when we’ll refinish or replace the chairs. Right now, I’m just happy to have this beautiful Farmhouse table that we’ll be sharing many meals around for the next few decades!

Want to see more pictures from the Farmhouse Table building process? Check them out over here!